Rick Lee reports:
York, PA – Every sexual abuse victim who testifies in York County in open court gives his or her name when sworn in.
If that witness is a minor, it may well be the only time the public is privy to the victim’s name.
Four of the alleged victims in the Jerry Sandusky molestation case, now adults, have filed motions in Centre County Common Pleas Court, asking they be allowed to testify under anonymity or pseudonyms.
According to attorneys representing those young men, Sandusky’s defense team is not opposed to the request.
The attorneys’ motions contend that compelling the alleged victims to give their names in front of the public and the national media “would cause them tremendous additional fear, anxiety and mental anguish (and) could subject them to ridicule and harassment … intense scrutiny of the national and local media and could potentially expose them to physical harm.”
Read more on York Daily Record.
Surprisingly (to me, anyway), this appears to be a first in York County.
I fully support the need to hide the real identity of sexual abuse victims during court cases from members of the public because sexual abuse is no ordeal to make fun or even use to stigmatize victims. What is of more concern though is whether the media will respect the privacy of sexual assault victims because nowadays journalists are quick to publish stories that quite often violate the personal lives of other people all in the name of media freedom.